Moving on

Watty1

I need to weed, then I might see the snowdrops. Just waiting for a dry day!

Cherryfudge

@Dakota_Rose , I don't think we can trim quotations in the new-look text editor, so I will refer back:

A four-fold increase in snowdrops - how lovely! At this rate, 16 next year. 😊(New emojis! But the old keyboard variety aren't working). Every year I plan to plant more, but somehow it's not really happened till last year. When I think about it, the irises and daffodils have been getting ready to launch for a while, with new growth evident. It could be a good year, so long as none of them drowns this winter. (Not likely as we're on a slope, but we are certainly making up for 2025's dry spring and summer).

LOL at the bird watch phraseology, but it seems the automatic censorship of certain bird varieties has gone! We get long tailed tits occasionally, but lots of blue tits and great tits. This morning there were seven sparrows and a pigeon - so much for diversity! The most interesting ever have been a fieldfare (in a hard winter) and a linnet, but those are quite dull to look at so I may have missed them. I've just put the Merlin app back on my phone as the bird song is getting lovely and I'd like to be able to say what I'm hearing.

Yesterday was wet and windy to a ridiculous extent but not dangerous round here. We're in North Yorkshire, which isn't giving a lot of personal information away as it's a very large area, and most of the relatively densely inhabited parts are sheltered by land masses. Some local areas get flooding, but not here. Nevertheless I'm glad that storm has passed and the water table can go down. York has had it badly as always (one of our children lives there but not at the river).

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81857769#Comment_81857769

What's one of those? 🚣‍♀️😂

Dakota_Rose

Here’s to a brighter day today. The birdsong is really lovely @Cherryfudge - we’re hearing lots today with the windows open. I may join you with the app as I have no idea who I’m hearing though!

Watty1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81857930#Comment_81857930

not quite sure?? I have a distant memory of a time it did not rain every day but that might be my imagination 😊

rtandon27

@cheeryfudge - that did make me laugh - we have one of those elusive dry days today, but yesterday being torrential means that our backyard is a quagmire and I can't get near the weeds! So lunch time on my wfh was spent writing a complaint to RM & doing a meal kit order to use up a credit note. I did do both in the glorious sunpatch streaming in our 'best' window, which made me channel my inner cat.

Cherryfudge

Sorry not to have written for a couple of days: I was late to bed on Monday (26th) largely due to remembering to wrap H's present to take round on Tuesday. When I had everything assembled, I took it out of the shop parcel and discovered it wasn't fir for purpose. Now I have it to return and have apologised to her that she has to wait again. (She kindly said it extends her birthday).

We had to be up early on Tuesday, the day of the storm, so I could go in the car with DH to look after the girls rather than walking to their house later. We had quite a quiet morning: DGD1 would always rather be at home and DGD2, while essentially over the chicken pox, is still covered in what were the spots. Both of them were tired after a busy weekend but DGD1 was cuddling a toy puppy that she seems to have won at a birthday party over the weekend.

We all had a nice time with the usual activities: TV, colouring, hide and seek and some made up games. I was so tired after lunch that DH kindly took the girls out to the soft play centre and gave me a quiet hour before joining them for the second hour. We'd not been before and had a great time. I am sure DH and I lost 40 years each, going through tubes, up oddly shaped stairs and down bumpy slides! The girls got so tired out that they both fell asleep on the short walk back (and my feet got very wet as the rain and wind lasted all day). A good time was had by all.

Back at home, and having heard my friend has been asked to work yet another Tuesday despite requesting it as a day off, I had the evening off. That's just as well as I was asleep by nine. Absolutely needed it. I woke at about one but not for very long and clocked nine hours altogether.

I don't know what Monday's costs came to: I don't think either of us went to the shops but the soft play was £14 plus food.

Cherryfudge

Tuesday (27th) has been foggy apart from a couple of hours in the afternoon when the fog lifted to grey cloud. It's back tonight but more of a rainy cloud interior.

I did some laundry, but it's on the airer. No question of hanging it out.

We had our 'free' hot drinks at the garden centre. The only cost was DH's scone and jam. I'd had a slice of stollen at home to fortify me against such temptations! DH doesn't have butter so I persuaded him to give it to me as it's included in the price - it could turn into another batch of parsnip soup - and I made him bring the rest of the pot of jam home too! I checked the plant pot recycling on the way out as ever and came away with a damaged but useable large pot which I planted up with one of the three boxes of narcissi which were being sold off at T3sco last month. The box said 10 bulbs but I counted 13, of which most were multiple shoots and all were still healthy. I also got coffee grounds which have gone in the compost. About as MS a trip for coffee as I could make it.

We went to the shops on the way home and to get diesel, then had a change of plan dinner to make use of chicken liver and finish up some bacon. Delicious with baked potato, tinned tomatoes and fried onions, topped off with red wine gravy. It's good that I can still get chicken liver at Mr S. Mr T hasn't had it in some time. The other half of the pack has gone in the freezer.

We had a church meeting this evening and I've packed up stuff ready to go to both jobs tomorrow. I spent an hour in the afternoon getting some training done (I can claim for the time) and have given in and sent in the December timesheet minus the first shift as the system still thinks I didn't work there on 5th December. I've texted the manager to draw her attention to the screenshot I sent of the problem.

Time to check I have change for the bus tomorrow and to write myself a note to take spare shoes and socks in case of rain, an umbrella, and the parcel to return to the drop off.

ladybird1106

sounds like you had fun at the park on Monday.

Love 🐞

Watty1

Enjoyed the detail of the garden centre visit. You made me think about what I miss by not going out there - I'd wanted more bulbs but never went out for them so missed that and even pottering around some garden centres can be a joy (not the huge plastic one I went to before Christmas though)